CAMELLIA SHOW ... The 51st annual Camellia Flower Show & Plant
Sale, put on by the San Francisco
Peninsula Camellia Society, will be
held 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday
and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb.
18-19, at the Community Activities
Building, 1400 Roosevelt Ave., Redwood City. The free event features
a display of 1,000 blooms, sale of
hard-to find plants, camellia workshops (“Renovating Old Camellias”
at 2:30 p.m. Saturday and “Maintaining Healthy Camellias for Shape and
Bloom” at 2:30 p.m. Sunday), as
well as a display of ikebana arrangements. The show is co-sponsored
by the Redwood City Parks and
Recreation Department. Information:
sfpcscamellias@gmail.com

Also online at PaloAltoOnline.com
Clockwise, from top: Deva
Luna plucks the leaves
from peppercress, an
edible weed found growing
in a community garden
on Arastradero Road;
peppercress, an edible
weed, can be found in local
gardens; miner’s lettuce;
and an edible weed salad
is composed of dandelion
and mustard greens, miner’s
lettuce, pansies and bell
pepper (for color).

ALL ABOUT LAWNS ... UC Master
Gardeners will give a free talk, “All
About Lawns: Lawn Care & Replacing Your Lawn” from 1:30 to
3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 23, at
Avenidas, 450 Bryant St., Palo Alto.
Designed for both those who tend
their own lawns and for those with
landscaping services, the talk will
include tips on saving water and
replacement options, such as lowwater grasses, other ground covers,
trees, shrubs and flowering plants.
Information: Master Gardeners at
408-282-3105, between 9:30 a.m.
and 12:30 p.m., Monday through Friday or http://mastergardeners.org n
Send notices of news and events related
to real estate, interior design, home
improvement and gardening to Home Front,
Palo Alto Weekly, P.O. Box 1610, Palo Alto,
CA 94302, or email cblitzer@paweekly.com.
Deadline is Thursday at 5 p.m.

by Eric Van Susteren

M

any people see dandelions, miner’s lettuce,
mallow and peppercress as garden nuisances deserving a liberal squirt of herbicide. Master gardener Deva
Luna sees them as lunch.
To her, these common
household weeds are the perfect components to a tasty
salad: She values dandelion
for its bitterness, peppercress
for its spicy watercress-like
bite, and miner’s lettuce for its
delicate flavor and texture.
She will teach a class
on identifying, harvesting,
cooking and eating common
garden weeds at Common
Ground Education Center on
Feb. 18. The class will include
which plants to eat or reject,
tasty recipes and harvesting
tips.
“I think people love the idea

Veronica Weber

ALL ABOUT MAPLES ... Bruce
Andrews of Grateful Gardens
Landscaping Co. will address the
De Anza Chapter of the American
Rhododendron Society at 7:30 p.m.
on Wednesday, Feb. 22. His topic
is aesthetic pruning of Japanese
maples and other plants. The group
meets in Room 12 of the Hillview
Community Center, 97 Hillview Ave.,
Los Altos. Information: www.deanzaars.com

of getting back to nature
and eating locally,” she
said. “And you can’t eat
more locally than right
out of your back yard.”
Luna tasted her first
weed when she was 4
years old at her grandparents’ dairy farm in
Fond Du Lac, Wisc. —
the place where she said
she first grew close to
nature.
The Great Depression
had instilled in her grandparents an importance in
autonomy, and they ate
just about everything they
grew, including weeds. In
some ways, Luna follows

in her grandparents’ footsteps. But Silicon Valley
is not Fond Du Lac.
“I’m not trying to live
off the land,” said Luna,
who has 38 chickens, 90
fruit and nut trees, and a
huge garden at her property outside San Jose. “I
mean, realistically, I live
in Silicon Valley. I do go
to the supermarket but I
also like to live more naturally and healthfully.”
Luna has worked with
gardens and plants for
most of her life. She
earned a self-made
(continued on page 32)

Palo Alto Weekly • February 17, 2012 • Page 29

Page 30 • February 17, 2012 • Palo Alto Weekly

Palo Alto Weekly • February 17, 2012 • Page 31

Home & Real Estate
15-minute Green Nest and Eggs
(from Deva Luna)
Gather 6 to 8 cups of wilds greens (mustard, mallow,
young dandelion, chickweed, miner’s lettuce).
Wash them and taste them raw to make sure they are
not too bitter.
Place them in a frying pan with the lid on and steam
them for one minute.
Using a spoon make a few 3-inch holes, or “nests,” in
the greens.
Break an egg into each hole and replace the cover.
Within a minute or so, the whites will be cooked and the
dish will be ready to eat.
Serve each green nest and egg on a slice of buttered
toast.

Weeds

(continued from page 29)

Bachelor of Science degree
in plants and art from the
University of Davis in 1975
and earned the title of master gardener in 1997 from the
University of California Cooperative Extension. She is
now a sustainable landscape
designer at EarthCare Landscaping, which operates in
Santa Clara and San Mateo
counties.
Eating weeds isn’t as
strange as it sounds. She once
went to an up-scale restaurant and ordered an expensive
salad, which turned out to be
mostly miner’s lettuce.
“It just shows you can pay
a lot for a really good salad
you can just find growing in
the shade under an oak tree,”
she said.
“Weed,” she said, is a somewhat ambiguous name and
can most simply be defined as
a plant that grows where you
don’t want it to grow.
“If you don’t like roses and
they’re in your garden, they’re
weeds,” she said.
Not all plants that are commonly considered weeds are
fit to eat. Oxalis, a common
garden weed, is edible but
must be consumed sparingly

HOME SALES

Home sales are provided by
California REsource, a real estate
information company that obtains
the information from the County
Recorder’s Office. Information
is recorded from deeds after the
close of escrow and published
within four to eight weeks.

East Palo Alto

1568 Bay Road A. Middel to S. &

because it contains high levels of oxalic acid, which can
damage the kidneys. On the
other hand, some research
suggests that the spiky milk
thistle can help reverse some
toxin-induced liver damage.
Luna said it’s best to start
out slowly, eating weeds in
small portions, because even
the edible ones can take more
work to digest at first.
Some people might be
turned off by the spiciness of
peppercress or the bitter flavors of weeds such as dandelions, she said.
“Americans don’t tend to
like bitter flavors,” she said.
“They like sweet and salty.”
But eating plants isn’t
dangerous for the informed
grazer. Although, Luna said
that it’s best to stay away from
plants with milky sap (except
dandelions) because it usually
indicates some kind of toxin.
She also doesn’t pick plants
to eat from areas treated with
herbicides or places that are
near major roadways, because
particulate matter from exhaust settles there.
The United States used 43
million pounds of herbicides
and growth regulators for
homes and gardens in 2007,
according to a 2011 report by
the Environmental Protection
N. Helmer for $260,000 on 1/5/12;
previous sale 9/98, $100,000
2124 Clarke Ave. R. & D. Coley
to E. Valdovinos for $295,000 on
1/9/12
2589 Emmett Way Bay Pacific Properties to P. Moreno for
$310,000 on 1/3/12; previous sale
6/11, $90,500
2261 Poplar Ave. Bank of New
York to Habitat For Humanity for
$240,000 on 1/6/12; previous sale

Read More Online

SALES AT A GLANCE

www.PaloAltoOnline.com

For more Home and Real Estate
news, visit www.paloaltoonline.
com/real_estate.

Agency. Luna prefers more
natural approaches to weed
control.
“I think they’re going to
regret the path they’ve taken
with chemicals in the long
term,” Luna said. “I’d rather
eat weeds than chemically
treated vegetables.”
Gardeners concerned with
the presence of heavy metals
or pesticide residue can test for
them, but Luna said such tests
are out of most peoples’ prices
ranges. However, she said
some universities will test soil
samples for fertility and nutrition for a relatively small fee.
Many herbicides used in
the home and garden market
have been declared innocuous
to humans, but Luna prefers
to avoid them, instead setting
aside the time to weed gardens by hand.
“You’re relaxing, getting
sun and you’re stretching,”
she said. “It’s like gardening
yoga.”
Best of all, unlike more
complex and involved gardening techniques, Luna said
anyone can be a weed gardener.
“Even if you’re a rotten
gardener, you can still have
a weed garden and eat out of
it,” she said. n
Editorial Assistant Eric
Van Susteren can be emailed
at evansusteren@paweekly.
com.
What: Weed Appreciation Day!
When: 10:30 a.m. to noon,
Saturday, Feb. 18
Where: Common Ground
Education Center, 559 College
Ave., Palo Alto
Cost: $31
Info: www.commonground7/89, $128,000
1060 Weeks St. A. & J. Villanueva to S. Stergiou for $460,000
on 1/5/12; previous sale 12/05,
$844,000

This Exquisitely Renovated Tudor Is Matched Only
By the Extraordinarily Beautiful Grounds
Upon Which it Sits. Within the Home are 5 Bedrooms,
4 Baths, Venetian Plaster Walls, and 500-year old French Tiles.
Outside, this Exceptional Property Showcases
a Pool With Elevated Spa,
Connecting Garden Retreats and Mosaic Tile Work.
There is also a 2-Car Attached Garage.

Los Altos Hills

OFFICE EXCLUSIVE!

$4,995,000

One of the Very Best Sites in Los Altos Hills.
A Quiet Enclave Close to Town
with Lots of Mature Trees and Usable Land.
The Spacious 1930’s Montery Colonial Home Has Been
Expanded and Updated Over the Years
To Provide 3 Bd, 3.5 Ba, Library, Formal Dining Room,
Large Family Kitchen Plus Great Room,
Detached 3-Car Garage
And Charismatic Walled Garden with Views.
The Large Guest House has 2 Bd, 2Ba, Fireplace,
Kitchen and Own Laundry Room.
We Will Cooperate with Other Brokers.

LOT WITH SPECTACULAR BAY VIEWS $1,100,000
Great Location and Value.
Wonderful Feng-Shui, with Mountains Behind
and Bay Views In Front.
1.42 Acres at End of Private Cul-de-Sac
in a Gated Community.
Close to Downtown Los Altos.
Plot Map Available upon Request.
Architect’s Rendering Available.

(650) 948-0811
300 THIRD ST. SUITE 9, LOS ALTOS, CA 94022

Midtown Realty presents...
105 EMERSON ST, PALO ALTO

Coming Soon!

By Appointment Only

BEAUTIFULLY CRAFTED CUSTOM HOME
“MISSION STYLE LUXURY”
Prime Midtown

U Beautifully landscaped grounds
U Newly constructed
U A true “one of a kind” custom home
U Incredibly high quality finishes, ten foot
designed for today’s living
high ceilings
U Incredible attention to detail and quality
U Enormous great room featuring “chefs
throughout
kitchen” with top of the line appliances
U Radiant heat throughout
Approx. 3,251 sq.ft. of living space | Approx. 9,975 sq.ft. lot size

U “Emerson Gardens” – Small, lovely
complex with gated entry
U Prime Palo Alto location within close
proximity to Downtown shops and
restaurants and Stanford...Yet, the home
feels miles away from the hub of activity
U Two car parking in underground, secure
garage
U Approx 1,445 sq. ft. of living space…with
the feel of a single family home

ust like new, this wonderful home has 5 bedrooms plus a
den, 3 bathrooms, and over 3000 sq.ft. of living space with an
open floorplan. This light and bright home has been extensively
renovated with spectacular upgrades. Located in Midtown within
close proximity to Fairmeadow Elementary, JLS Junior High and the
Mitchell Park Library, this home offers ultimate convenience.

Originally designed by the noted architect David Adler for Mrs. Celia Tobin Clark, one of the San Francisco’s most
prominent families of the early 20th Century, this magnificent estate evokes all the ambience and grandeur of another
era. Featured as a Decorator Showcase in the early 1990's, this circa 1930 Cotswold Tudor mansion has been meticulously renovated with a superb level of fine craftsmanship, architectural design and interior finishes. The original design features were preserved, while updating the infrastructure with modern systems.

Secluded from view behind classic wrought-iron gates, one enters the magnificent grounds of this 35,000 square foot
estate through a dramatic lighted cobblestone drive into a large motor court with a spectacular stone fountain — a
truly grand entrance. An elegant reception foyer greets guests, with a carved balustrade staircase leading to opulent
public rooms; a banquet-sized formal dining room with carved marble fireplace and oversized French Doors leading
to the Loggia and Grand Terrace; a cozy Library and Music Room. Other features of the mansion include 12 Bedrooms, 15 Bathrooms, 12 Fireplaces, four Kitchens, a VIP Suite (host to Heads of State), a handsome Bar Room, separate Guest Apartment, paneled Card Room, Offices, 1,700 bottle Wine Vault, a 1931 restored Otis Lift, Exercise
Room and an expansive Recreation/Media Room. The estate also enjoys a Six Car Garage and state-of-the-art systems, including sound, lighting, security and intercom throughout—an estate combined of elegant tradition and
modern luxury.

3 bed/4 bath - $2,998,000
Contemporary Craftsman built in 1999, in prime Central Menlo Park with an open floor
plan, soaring ceilings/tons of natural light, and great entertaining spaces including a
formal parlor at the entry. The full second master retreat has separate office/nursery,
walk-in closet, and two balconies overlooking the “endless” pool in the yard. Oversized
10,080 ft. lot on a quiet cul-de-sac, less than a half mile to Santa Cruz Avenue Shopping
and top Meno Park schools.